AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D Review

Rating: 9.0.

As KitGuru prepared for CES 2023 we knew full well that AMD would announce a version of Ryzen 7000 with 3D cache, most likely an 8-core Ryzen 7 as an update to Ryzen 7 5800X3D. So imagine our surprise when AMD's Dr. Lisa Su announced three models of 3D Ryzen 7000 stretching from 8-cores all the way up to the mighty 16-core Ryzen 9 7950X3D – the latter of which we are reviewing today.

Watch the video via our VIMEO Channel (Below) or over on YouTube at 2160p HERE

Timestamps
00:00 Leo’s unboxing!
00:45 Introduction to 7950X3D
02:17 How will it work?
03:59 Leo explains stacking
05:23 The problem so far…
06:45 Laying the groundwork for the review
09:15 What happens when you use the wrong BIOS
10:43 Test setup
13:49 7950X behaviour
14:45 7950X3D behaviour
16:05 CPU benchmark results
19:38 Gaming benchmarks
22:18 Leo’s closing thoughts

Adding extra L3 cache to a CPU is a big deal, however it doesn't play so well in photos as the action happens out of sight, under the heat spreader. Happily enough KitGuru got hands-on with Ryzen 9 7950X3D at CES 2023 and we were able to take a slightly ropey photo of a delidded CPU. If you look closely you can see a vertical line on the left hand CCD which is the edge of the stacked cache. If you are able to spot the other edge then congratulations, your eyesight is Grade A.

In our video we show a great many pages of information, detailing how AMD enables 3D cache on one CCD while leaving the other CCD untouched. We strongly recommend that you read Luke's review of the Ryzen 9 7950X HERE as everything in that review applies to the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. We are purely focussing on the addition of the 3D cache and the mechanism used by AMD to make the finished result work correctly.

We show in our video what happens when you use a BIOS that does NOT support the new Ryzen 9 7950X3D. Once you get past that stumbling block you can check the CPU is correctly identified along with its extra cache and the integrated graphics are also working. Ryzen 9 7950X has 16MB L2 + 32MB of L3 on each CCD. By contrast Ryzen 9 7950X3D has 16MB L2 + 32MB L3 on one CCD + 96MB L3 on the other CCD.

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